UFC on FOX 23 results: Francis Ngannou wastes Andrei Arlovski for fast first-round TKO

DENVER – Francis Ngannou passed his first test against a marquee name, knocking out Andrei Arlovski to pick up his fifth straight win and advance in the heavyweight division.

Ngannou (10-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) caught Arlovski (25-14 MMA, 14-8 UFC) leaning in with an overhand right, returning fire with a two-punch combo that sent the ex-champ to the mat before the referee intervened at the 1:32 mark of the first.

The heavyweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC on FOX 23 event at Pepsi Center in Denver. It aired on FOX following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Ngannou, the No. 14 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings, missed early with big punches as Arlovski worked his lead leg with kicks. But after feeling out Arlovski’s timing, he responded perfectly when the overhand right missed. He clipped Arlovski’s head with a left hook and then quickly followed with a right hand that sent his opponent stiff to the mat.

Arlovski landed on his hands and knees and turtled as Ngannou wailed with additional shots, but it wasn’t long before the fight was waved off.

Arlovski, the face of the UFC’s big-man division in 2005, now has lost four straight bouts for the second time in his storied career. A previous skid in the now-defunct Affliction and Strikeforce promotions led to calls for his retirement, but he returned to the small-show scene and rebuilt his career.

After going 6-2 outside the octagon, he re-signed with the industry-leader and waged an impressive comeback, winning four straight. But a knockout loss to current champ Stipe Miocic touched off his latest slide.

He brushed aside questions of what would happen if he lost to Ngannou, but retirement questions could be on the way.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 23 results include:

• Francis Ngannou def. Andrei Arlovski via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:32
• Jason Knight def. Alex Caceres via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:21
• Sam Alvey def. Nate Marquardt via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Raphael Assuncao def. Aljamain Sterling via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Li Jingliang def. Bobby Nash via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 4:45
• Jordan Johnson def. Luis Henrique da Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Eric Spicely def. Alessio Di Chirico via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:14
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Jeremy Kimball via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:27
• Alexandre Pantoja def. Eric Shelton via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Jason Gonzalez def. J.C. Cottrell via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 3:54

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 23, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on site in Vancouver.)